Caught red-faced in Mickey D’s

After a late night working last night, I was indulging in a guilty pleasure this morning–breakfast at McDonalds in the form of Egg and Cheese McMuffins! Not on the menu but always an option!–when I was caught red-faced by an English colleague of mine. I don’t know whether being caught at McDonalds is worse or better than being caught at Starbucks; both represent the American capitalist dream, both feature prominently in the Economist‘s purchasing power parity analysis, both represent to many the scourge of globalization, and both are conveniently located within a few blocks of my flat. I stammered out my excuse of being tired and homesick before I realized, glancing at my English colleague picking up his own order from the counter, that at least I had the “homesick” card to play. What was his excuse?

3 responses to “Caught red-faced in Mickey D’s”

I dunno, I visited Pizza Hut with shocking regularity when I lived in Guangzhou… and far from being just a guilty pleasure, people there seemed to think it natural that I’d crave foods I’m used to, just as Chinese tourists in the U.S. spend a lot more time eating at Chinese restaurants than TGI Fridays.

I think that every now and again you have to embrace your McDonalds thing – either feel guilty eating there wherever it is (U.S./England/elsewhere), or dive in with defiance. One word of advice: try not to chuck full cups of coffee into the bin.